Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood refuses to boycott presidential election

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood called on activists and opponents of the military
dictatorship to support their candidate in the presidential election
run-off, saying they would not join a boycott in protest at a court ruling
that dissolved parliament.

The group, which won the parliamentary elections that have now been ruled invalid, issued a statement saying Egypt was facing a "counter-revolution plainly witnessed by all". It said there were now "serious doubts on the potential integrity of the electoral process".

But it rejected a growing movement to boycott the election run-off, which over Saturday and Sunday will choose either the Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi or Ahmed Shafiq, a former general closely tied to the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, as president. Many revolutionary activists are calling on voters to spoil their ballots as a protest against what they see as manipulation of the election.

"Dr Morsi is determined not to abandon the people who placed their confidence and trust in him," the statement said. It called on Egyptians to turn out in "million-man marches" to defend the revolution.

The ruling on Thursday by Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court said many of the candidates in the parliamentary election were invalid. A separate ruling overturned a parliamentary decree which would have banned Mr Shafiq from taking part in the presidential election as a senior official in the old regime - he was President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister.

Dr Morsi is the clear favourite in the run-off, and opposition politicians and Egyptian and western analysts all claim that the military council feared its powers and privileges would be threatened if both presidency and parliament were in the Brotherhood's hands.

The chairman of the court, Farouq Sultan, was a personal appointee of Mr Mubarak.

But the day before the ruling, the authorities announced that military police were being given the right to arrest civilians, a move some interpreted as a preparation for protests that would follow a Shafiq victory.

Though the Brotherhood is being strongly promoted in mosques throughout the country, Mr Shafiq has the backing of the powerful patronage networks who ran the country under Mr Mubarak, as well as minority groups such as Christians who fear Islamist domination.

Many Egyptians also fear a loss of personal freedoms if the Brotherhood come to power. "If the Islamists win everything will change," said Shaouki Abdulradi, a Muslim customer of a shop selling wine and beer in central Cairo. While the Brotherhood has promised to respect personal liberties, Mr Abdulradi said there would be a long-term squeeze on "unIslamic practices" like drinking alcohol.

In a statement yesterday, Amnesty International said the decision to give the military powers of arrest had "dangerous and pervasive ramifications for the rule of law".

"That the Minister of Justice could now give an army responsible for killing, torture, and thousands of arbitrary arrests and unfair trials the power to arrest and detain civilians beggars belief. It is nothing less than legally sanctioning abuse," its deputy Middle East director, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, said.